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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

MN Has Huge Discrepancy in Insurance Rates

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Tuesday, July 18, 2017   

ST. PAUL, Minn. – If you have a good driving record but think your car insurance premium is too high, a new survey says your credit score could be the problem.

A report by the online marketing firm WalletHub found five of the largest insurance companies that write auto policies use credit ratings as a factor in determining insurance premiums.

Minnesota has one of the highest discrepancies; a low credit score can increase premiums as much as 92 percent.

WalletHub's Jill Gonzalez says low credit doesn't mean companies think a person is more likely to be in an accident.

"It has to do with, 'Do you have a history of paying your bills, and do you think that history will carry on when paying out your insurance premiums?'" she says. "I think that's really where the mindset is here. I would say it's more of a cost risk than an actual driving risk."

The report shows the effect a credit score can have on the cost of an auto policy varies widely.

Gonzalez says they found companies such as Farmers and Allstate weigh credit scores heavily in calculating premiums, while for GEICO and Progressive, low credit is much less of a factor.

She says costs also vary between states. The survey found bad credit in New Jersey can raise rates as much as 100 percent - while in California, poor credit adds very little to the cost of a policy.

Some critics say using credit scores to rate policies can unfairly raise insurance rates for lower-income families and communities of color.

"Depending on where you live and who your provider is, people with no credit - so, those are people who may be recent grads, people who are simply unbanked, people with no credit - pay on average 65 percent more for car insurance than people with excellent credit do," she explains.

Gonzalez says avoiding accidents and tickets will do the most to keep insurance rates down. But paying bills on time can help, too.

"If you are currently shopping around for a new policy or a new provider, then actively be trying to improve your credit score at the same time, because chances are the more you improve it, the lower that premium will be," she adds.

She says some companies are more transparent than others about how they use credit scores. Check the fine print on an insurer's website or call the company and ask them directly.


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